Staring through the ceiling
by LovesSparkles
Summary: Wanda's a little worried about the first night after the rainy season is over, but Ian's got it covered. One-shot, romantic. Don't read if you don't know where babies come from.


After the night when Jamie had worked to push us together and talk about our thoughts and feelings, we spent the rest of the rainy season wrapped in each other's arms at night.

Ian's body was so much larger than Pet's – than mine, I corrected. It felt nice to be held so securely against him. I felt that nothing too terrible could happen with him surrounding me, protecting me.

When the rains ended, our little community rejoiced. As excited as they had been for the rains, and the changes the weather brought, the humans were soon ready for the change back to normalcy.

After Jeb declared the rains over, we spent the day packing our belongings and bringing them from the game room back to our rooms. Of course, it would be different for Jamie, Ian and I. Jamie was not bringing his belongings back to our room, instead rooming with two other single males.

And Ian and I would be alone. I had given a lot of thought to what might happen once we were alone. Pet had never experienced physical love, but I had memories Mel had given me of her closeness with Jared. Their intimacy had been heated, passionate, and even rough sometimes. The thought made me nervous. Mel's body was sturdier, stronger than my new one. Could it take such abuse? I couldn't picture Ian attacking me in that way, although I had seen the heat in his eyes.

He hadn't hurt me while we touched in my new body. I remembered his harsh grip around my throat when I had first come to the caves and shuddered. He had been nothing but gentle with me since, I reminded myself. And I did enjoy his kisses, his touch, in my new body. I was grateful that things seemed to be working the way they should now. When I was in Mel's body, she had been so vehemently opposed to having any other man touch me that I couldn't even concentrate on Ian's kisses due to her yelling and cursing in my head.

As I laid our mattress in what was now Ian's and my room, I blushed, thinking of what might happen on it later. Ian, holding the other end of the mattress since my small body could not carry it alone, noticed my distress and immediately put his side of the mattress down and came to me.

"Wanda? Are you ok, sweetheart? What's wrong?"

I cursed the shyness that ruled so many responses in Pet's body.

"I'm fine," I squeaked.

"Was it too heavy? I should have carried it by myself. Do you need some rest? Here, lie down," he touched my forehead and cheeks while he spoke, then put his arm around my shoulders and tried to lead me to sit on the mattress.

"I'm fine Ian," I said more certainly, but still blushing. "Let's go help the others carry their belongings."

He looked carefully into my eyes, looking for any fatigue or pain, then nodded and ran his hand from my shoulder, down my arm and to my hand, turning it over and interlocking our fingers. I marveled again at how large his dark, strong hand was compared to my pale, delicate one.

Hands laced together, we made our way back down to the game room.

Oo0O0oO

When everyone was done clearing the game room, we all went back to our normal chores. The humans – meaning Ian, Jamie and Jed – had eventually decided that bread-making and gardening were too rough for me to do and had convinced me to help Sharon teach. We took turns with the children; she would teach about human things and I would teach about Souls. Often, adults would attend my sessions as well.

It was after that day's session that I overheard Jared and Ian arguing near our room.

"I really don't see how this is any of your business, Howe," Ian growled at Jared.

"I think we both know that Wanda will always be my business," Jared retorted.

"Does that mean I should go prying into your and Melanie's sex life?"

"So you admit that you're going to use Jamie's absence to take advantage of –"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Wanda and I haven't even talked about it yet. When we do, we'll go with whatever she wants to do. And by 'we' I mean Wanda and I. Not you."

"You said yourself that she would do anything to make us happy. Make sure when you talk about it, you're thinking about what would make her happy."

"Back off, Howe. We don't need you in our bedroom any more than you already are," Ian said, giving Jared a shove and stalking away.

Jared stood with his back pressed to the wall of the cave, his hands in his pockets, deep in thought as he watched Ian storm off.

I quickly ducked into another bedroom, and hid from view, my mind whirling. Bedroom? Were Ian and Jared fighting about sex? With me? I didn't know what to think of that.

Deciding enough time had passed, I rushed off to the dining area to see if they would let me help with dinner.

Oo0O0oO

Ian, Jamie, Jared, Mel and I all ate together. Tonight's dinner was canned pasta. We all ate the spicy treat with great enjoyment as Jamie regaled us with his story about how he was "framed" in an incident that had earned him yet another detention.

People ate quickly, anxious to experience the first nights of privacy, of quiet sleep, since before the rain. Ian, especially, seemed to be in a hurry. He barely said a word during dinner, and hardly laughed at Jamie's stories. It made me nervous. Was he still angry about the fight I'd overheard earlier today? Was he regretting his decision to share a room with me?

We all looked up in surprise as he abruptly rose from his seat. He patted my shoulder absently. "I gotta go take care of something," he said.

Jared glared at his retreating back, while Jamie looked on in puzzlement and Melanie gazed meaningfully at Jared. She glanced quickly at me, then back to Jared. He deliberately relaxed and asked Jamie a question about school. I didn't listen, my mind again consumed with confusion.

Oo0O0oO

After dinner, I took a few moments to bathe and change into my nightclothes before I made my way back to Ian's room. I didn't know whether to hope he was in there or not. Hopefully his weird behavior would be resolved by whatever he had left dinner early to do.

I was seized by a sudden horrible thought. What if he left to pack his belongings and move out of our room? What if Jared had convinced him to leave me?

I quickened my pace, thinking to catch him before he finished moving out and convince him to stay in his room. If he wasn't comfortable staying with me, I should be the one to move. Perhaps I could move in with Lily or…

My thoughts trailed off as I entered the room to the sight of dancing lights. Little candles flickered everywhere around the room, creating just enough light to see. Ian sat on the bed in the middle of the room.

Melanie's vague memories informed me that candlelight was romantic. I certainly agreed, the golden light creating a welcoming glow. Ian was welcoming me back to our new room. My body flooded with relief.

His hair gleamed wet in the light; obviously, he'd wanted to be clean for our first sleep back in the room as well. He smiled a little at me, beckoning me closer. I quickly made my way to his side, snuggling into the perfect spot I'd found after so many nights together in the game room.

I rubbed my face into the t-shirt he was wearing, just over his heart, listening to it beat.

We sat like that for a moment before he asked, "Wanda? Do you know…from Melanie, I mean…um…how men and women…where babies come from?"

"Sex?" I answered, like it was a question.

"Sex," He repeated. "Well…when a man and a woman…make love…sometimes, it isn't just to make a baby. It can be an expression of how much they love each other. How close they want to be to each other."

I blushed and lowered my head on his chest. "Yes," I almost whispered. "I know. Jared and Mel did it all the time, and they never had a baby."

"Well," Ian interrupted, and I suddenly remembered what he'd said about keeping Jared out of what we were doing. "Do you think you might…like to…try that with me?"

I was silent for a moment. My thoughts flickered back to the scenes in my head of Jared tearing Mel's clothes off and shoving her against a wall, their mouths fused together as they fought to devour each other.

"Honestly, Ian, this body might be too fragile of something like that," I murmured, still refusing to look at him. "If you shoved this body against a wall or door, a bone might break or the skin could be shredded by the rough cave walls."

I dared a glance up at him. He was looking at me with a strange expression. My blush renewed itself and I looked down again.

"Wanda, I'm not sure how to say this. There's…more than one way to make love. It can be…fast and…rough… but with us, Wanda, it could be slow and…gentle."

I looked up at him again, and the tender expression on his face took my breath away.

"Wanda," he said, holding my gaze with his own. "Do you trust me? Don't you know I would never want to do something that would hurt you?"

I nodded. My Ian would never want me to be harmed.

"You like it when I kiss you, right?"

I nodded again.

"And when we sleep together, holding each other…you like that too?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"I want you to know that, if that's all you want, we can continue to just kiss and hold each other. If you're scared, we can wait, or just not do it at all. I will always be grateful that we found a way for both you and Melanie to stay. Just having you here with me is more than enough."

He reached down and cupped my cheek in his big hand.

"But you want to experience this…closeness with me?"

"Only if you want to, Wanda," he said, bring his face close to mine. He closed his eyes and I closed mine too. He pressed his lips to mine, moving them gently against my mouth. After a little bit of this, his tongue came out and grazed my bottom lip. I couldn't help myself, and a quiet "Mmmmm" came through my lips at his action. He took it as the encouragement it was, slipping his tongue between my lips.

He tasted like the cool mint toothpaste I'd swiped for him on our last raid. The Souls had different methods for keeping teeth clean, but I'd found the tube in a box, unopened, in a drawer at the hotel and brought it to him as a memento of his past. I loved how Ian always remembered little details. He always tried to find more little ways to make me happy.

I pressed closer to give him more access and untucked my hands from my lap, wrapping one through his hair and putting the other on his shoulder, mirroring where his hands were.

When he moved his hand from my shoulder to my back, pressing me closer still, I moved mine to his back. I figured he must know how to do this, and since my only memories were of Mel – and she was doing it wrong – I decided to follow his lead.

We kissed for a long time. My body got warmer and warmer as we kissed, and my hands felt his skin get warmer too. I pulled away slightly to get some air, and he took the opportunity to remove his shirt. I ran my eyes over him, appreciating his beauty. He'd laughed and blushed a little when I told him about how beautiful he was, but, to me, his body was perfection.

He reached for my hand and placed it over his heart. I marveled at the heat, the texture of his skin, like silk over stone. My body was so much softer, mushy compared to his hard muscles. I ran my hand over his chest as I worried that he might want my body to be hard like his. Melanie had a muscular body. I pulled my lip between my teeth and he moaned. I froze and looked up at him, my lip falling out of my mouth. He moaned again and leaned in to grab my lip between his teeth. This time the moan was mine.

"Can I take your shirt off, too, Wanderer?"

It seemed only fair to me. I leaned back and raised my arms over my head to help him remove the soft pink t-shirt.

He inhaled slowly, his eyes starting their perusal at my neck and working their way down to my belly button. I reached out to take his hand and place it over my heart. He made a little choking sound in his throat and leaned in to kiss me again, softly running his hand down to my belly and back up to cup my breast. I was amazed. It felt just as good to be touched as it did to touch him.

"Beautiful," he whispered.

We caressed and stroked each other for a while. I could tell he was trying to take his time with me. Any time his motions started to be a little frantic, he deliberately moved his hands back to my shoulders and softened our kiss.

The urges of my human body took over and my hands slid down to the waistband of his shorts. He pulled away.

"Are you sure, Wanda?" he asked, breathing heavily.

"I want to see you," I said simply. He stood and his hands went to the button fly of his shorts and I decided to lose my shorts as well.

"Heavenly God," he said, staring at my naked body. His was worth staring at as well. We looked at each other for a moment that seemed like an eternity before he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. He ran his hands up and down my back while I clasped both my hands on his shoulders, standing on my tiptoes to reach his lips with mine. He seemed to sense my awkwardness and grabbed my hips, moving us to sit again. Our legs tangled and we toppled a little, and I fell onto the bed with a giggle. He lay on his side, leaning over me and looking down at my face, and I was again struck by the tenderness in his eyes.

"Do you love me, Ian?" I asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear him say it again.

"I love you, Wanderer, more than anyone else I've ever known, more than my own life."

My eyes teared up a little.

He leaned closer. "Do you love me, Wanda?" he whispered.

"Yes, more than any being I've ever known, on any planet."

He looked away for a second. "More than Jared?" His voice was so low, I almost couldn't hear it.

I pulled his face back toward mine. "More than any being, Ian. Including myself. And including Jared."

He leaned in and kissed me again. My lips were already swollen from our earlier kisses, but it felt like I was kissing him for the first time, all over again.

As our kisses grew heated again, I moved instinctively to bring him between my legs. I hoped this part was the same as Melanie's memories, since I had no idea how else it could work.

"Wanda, Wanda, Wanda…" Ian murmured my name as he moved his lips from my mouth, to my throat, to my chest and down. He touched me even lower, making sure I was ready.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

"Yes, Ian. I love you."

"I love you, Wanda."

He rose up and came into me slowly, pausing when I tensed up and kissing me until I relaxed again.

When we were finally joined, I let out a sigh and smiled. "I can see what you meant about closeness. I feel like you're a part of me now."

"Wanda," he whispered, beyond words.

Each time he entered my body, he said "I love you" or my name, and I tried to reply in kind until I was too distracted by my body to keep coherent thoughts. Suddenly I was gripped by even greater joy, and I felt thrown out of my body. I vaguely heard him shout my name one last time before I drifted away.

When I came back to myself, he was still lying between my legs, kissing my neck and shoulder. I rubbed my hand slowly up and down his back, happier and more in love than I'd ever been as I stared through the gap in the ceiling at the stars. I smiled because I had no more need to wander among them.

Oo0O0oO

My bladder woke me up the next morning and I sneaked out of our room to take care of it. On the way, I ran into Melanie.

"Hey, Mel," I said. She smiled.

"Hey Wanda," she said.

"Um, did you know," I asked her, "that you and Jared have been doing sex wrong?"


End file.
